


Notes for a Ben 10 Reboot

by senrid (thisjustout)



Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: Criticism, Gen, Nonfiction, Notes for a Hypothetical Reboot, crossposted from tumblr, just know that this is rather negative about canon, not sure how else to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29084256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisjustout/pseuds/senrid
Summary: I woke up at six AM this morning, had a bowl of cereal, then crawled back under my covers and spent the next hour and a half thinking aboutBen 10.





	Notes for a Ben 10 Reboot

**Author's Note:**

> [Crossposted from Tumblr](https://sidetog.tumblr.com/post/184623230104/gaytog-i-woke-up-at-six-am-this-morning-had-a) ([part two](https://sidetog.tumblr.com/post/184623681269/im-interested-how-one-would-go-about-making-both)). After I posted this, someone pointed out that I might enjoy the actual reboot of Ben 10. I have yet to watch it, but it’s certainly on my to-do list.

Two summers ago I watched the entire running of the original cartoon, including _Secret of the Omnitrix_ but not including the last episode (I’ve been putting it off for a while). My rewatch was a nostalgia trip. I still love how creative some of the alien designs are, the lore is even more expansive than I remembered…

And I can’t think of a show with more wasted potential.

I say this entirely out of love. _Ben 10_ is one of the earliest American speculative-fiction cartoons with aspirations of an epic plot. Sadly, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Its central failure is that the characters remain largely stagnant throughout the series: Ben unlocks new aliens and Gwen learns magic, but these level-ups don’t often correlate with meaningful character growth.

To the show’s credit, the characters do change—a little. The reveal of Max’s Plumber backstory momentarily shakes up the group’s dynamics. And as the summer goes on and the trio grow closer, Ben and Gwen’s overplayed rivalry loses some of its edge.

But the characters never depart significantly from their original roles. By the end of the series, Gwen is still a smart, snarky girl; Max, a loving and protective grandfather; and Ben, a superpowered boy whose understanding of “heroism” has less to do with protecting innocents than with kicking butt.

It’s hard to stay attached to the characters, and as a result, it’s hard to care about the show, no matter how much I want to.

Enough negativity, though! Here’s an incomplete list of things I would do (or might do; some of these ideas are half baked) if I were put in charge of areboot.

* * *

**Character arcs:** Ben makes a slow, steady, believable transformation from someone who (despite claiming otherwise) only cares about being a “hero” because it means looking cool while saving the day, into a genuinely selfless person—a true hero. I haven’t thought too much about Gwen or Max, but each of them likewise slowly resolves at least one (1) deep-seated issue over the course of the series.

 **Level-ups:** Ben’s increasing control over the Omnitrix and Gwen’s over her magic correlate loosely with their character arcs. Moments when new powers “click” are often emotionally charged. For example, imagine this scene: Gwen and/or Max are in mortal peril, but Ben is fifty feet away and his watch is in the red. He realizes that he can’t save them—and then without thinking, he overrides the charge mode, drawing on power reserves he didn’t even know existed. He transforms for just long enough to save his family, and the watch takes days to recharge afterward. From then on, Ben knows he can draw on this new power in a pinch, but he’s also painfully aware of just how easy it would be to lose someone in a battle. He becomes a little overprotective in subsequent episodes.

 **Magic:** A vaguely scientific-sounding explanation is provided as to why magic exists. “The universe is brimming with a particular kind energy which most people can’t even see, but which responds to conscious thought.” Something like that.

 **Heroes:** Out of Ben’s original ten aliens, I would keep Four Arms (wonderfully symbolic of his propensity for brute strength), Grey Matter (an important alternative to strength, one he needs to learn to utilize), Ghostfreak (see below), and Upgrade (objectively the coolest alien). I would definitely replace Diamondhead, as it feels redundant with Four Arms. I’m on the fence about XLR8, Wildmutt, Stinkfly, Ripjaws, and Heatblast. Each of them fills an important niche (speed; tracking; flight; aquatic maneuverability; and easy-to-lose-control-of, great-for-teaching-self-control fire), but I feel that each could be redesigned into something less humanoid, more alien, and thus much cooler.

 **Villains:** I like the original show’s assortment of evildoers. Vilgax especially—there’s something wonderfully simple and honest about making your primary villain a space dictator. I would keep the Ghostfreak arc but stretch it out a little longer, make it a little creepier, and give him a different post-freedom goal than Taking Over The World. I also have a few ideas for Charmcaster; see below.

 **Bickering:** Did I mention that Ben and Gwen’s mutual antagonism is overdone? I don’t think I was harsh enough: at times it feels like half the show’s dialogue consists of snarky quips meant to remind us that these cousins really, reeeeally don’t like each other. It’s meaningless. Even worse, it makes it harder to care about their relationship. So instead of simmering into a mutual “I care about you but you’re still annoying as hell“ sentiment, I would much rather see their pettiness _disappear_ as they learn the _extremely_ important skill of nonviolent conflict resolution.

 **Gwen 10:** In one episode, Ben somehow stumbles into a divergent timeline, and he’s attacked by an Omnitrix-wielding Gwen without warning or explanation. Once the fights dies down and they compare stories, Ben learns that he’s a villain in this timeline—he was jealous of Gwen’s powers, and Vilgax promised to build him an Omnitrix in exchange for capturing Gwen. The whole thing is super awkward for Ben; the cousins never grew close in this timeline, so it’s not as if Gwen is relieved to see him. More like, “Good for you, I’m glad you got your toy in another reality. Now please leave me alone.”

Over the course of the episode, our Ben is forced to confront his selfishness, and he wonders whether he can really call himself a hero. He also sprouts an inferiority complex over the fact that Gwen is far better with the Omnitrix than he’s ever been. These thoughts are with him when he returns to his timeline; from then on, he actually _tries to be a good person_ —he wants to distance himself from the villain he knows he’s capable of becoming. Gwen 10 is a recurring side story; the timelines intersect at least one or two more times throughout the series. (And, uh, her alien forms don’t have human hair and breasts.)

 **Charmcaster** is Gwen’s age. In one episode, they get stuck together in a bad situation (think “stuck on a deserted island,” except not actually that) and have to work together to get out. Gwen is incredibly untrusting, having fought Hex and Charmcaster before. As the episode goes on, though, Charmcaster opens up about her life and her complicated relationship with her uncle. Gwen does the same, and they share a touching moment—only for Charmcaster to turn around and betray her at the last moment, claiming that she never really cared about Gwen and was only using her to escape [situation].

Gwen is extremely hurt. When she gets back to her family she aggressively Does Not Want To Talk About It. Whatever her one (1) major unresolved issue is, I’d like to tie it to Charmcaster; maybe she could be a Connie-like character in that she’s never had a true friend before? Or she has trouble opening up to people? Something along those lines.

Anyway, camera cuts back to Charmcaster. She does something that visually indicates to the audience that she does, in fact, care about Gwen at least a little bit (maybe she gazes fondly at a trinket Gwen gave her). In future episodes, their rivalry has a bittersweet feel to it. Charmcaster may or may not get a real redemption arc down the road, and the two of them may or may not be an endgame romance.

* * *

hazelsluck asked:

> i'm interested how one would go about making both Stinkfly and Wildmutt less humanoid and more alien, or if you meant something else with those two. I also feel like Diamondhead would be better, or at least less redundant, either as Ben learned how to use the powers inherent to DH more, or the differences between base DH and 4A were more meaningful. he can get tossed to a wall either way, but one can stand better to sonic blasts(noting Ghostfreak's Wolf) and the other can better stand to lasers.

In the case of Wildmutt, I was thinking “less dog-like” but didn’t specifically say so because the sentence was already pretty mangled. I actually just looked up Stinkfly and you’re right, it’s less humanoid than I remembered; I would probably just get rid of the hands and make its ground movements more insect-like.

Diamondhead’s design is too much of a “tank” for me, if that makes sense. I’d prefer if it still had energy absorption powers and crystal manipulation but wasn’t so physically beefy. I think Chromastone might work in its place, based on what little I remember of _Alien Force_.

(These are 100% my own subjective opinions and, unlike everything else I talked about in that post, don’t reflect on how “good” I think the show is.)


End file.
